Australian Committee Votes Unanimously to Legalize Medical Marijuana

A New South Wales parliamentary committee has unanimously recommended the legalization of medical marijuana for those with terminal illnesses such as cancer and AIDS, according to The Australian. If the measure is approved by the state’s government, qualified patients would be authorized to possess and use up to 15 grams of marijuana.

The committee vote, which included members from five different political parties (the Liberal, National, Labor, Greens and Shooter parties), had not a single detracting, despite representatives of the Department of Health, the attorney general and police officers speaking in opposition to the provision.

Luke Foley, a Labor Party member who initiated the vote, stated, “Today’s report is extremely significant – unanimous support from members representing five different political parties for legal reform to allow the medical use of cannabis by patients with terminal illness and AIDS.” He continues, “As members of parliament we need to be guided by facts and evidence rather than slogans and hysteria. We should be guided by the experts – by clinicians on the medical issues and lawyers on the legal issues.”

– TheJointBlog

Anthony Martinelli

Anthony is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog. He has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for King County (WA) Councilmember Dave Upthegrove. He has been published by multiple media outlets, and is a former contributor for Village Voice Media.

Anthony can be reached at TheJointBlog@TheJointBlog.com.

1 comment

I am absolutely shocked to see the department of health opposing this. To me this indicates they are corrupted as they are totally ignoring a huge amount of supporting evidence for medicinal cannabis with a result of billions of dollars going to pharmaceutical companies unnecessarily.